Construction of concrete aqueducts, tunnels, subways, and the like.



No. 866,838. PATENTED SEPT. 24, 1907.

J. T. WILSON.

CONSTRUCTION 0F CONCRETE AQUEDUGTS, TUNNELS, SUBWAYS, Y AND THE LIKE.

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP 13.18, 1907.

No. 866,833 PATENT ED SEPT. 24, 1907.

AND THE LIKE.

' APPLIOATION FILED 123.18. 19o7.

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y WITNESSES m INVENTUR W% 9 c/amejTm/Mn. x 5 1 BY A I I I I 7 I 1'ATTORNEYS J. T. WILSON. UONSTRUGTIONOP CONCRETE AQUEDUGTS, TUNNELS,SUBWAYS,

AND THE LIKE.

.nrmou'zon FILED rma.1s, 1907.

No. 866,833. PATENTED SEPT. 24, 1907.

3 BHEETS-SHBBT 3.

I I Z/azvzeifi50m. $6M Br I l TTORIVEYS UNITED STATE Q I AIENT OFFICEJAMES THOMPSON WILSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

oons'rnuo'rron on ooivcrtn'rn AQUEDUCTS, TUNNELS, SUBWAY'S, AND THELIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 24, 1907.

Application filed February 18, 1907. serial No. 357,802.

To all whorit it may concern:

Be it known that I, .lAnss TnoMrsoN Wilson, a citizen oi the UnitedStates, and residing at New York, in the county of New York and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in theConstruction of Concrete Aqueductsflunneh, Subways, and the Like, ofwhich the following is a specification, such as will enable thoseskilled in the art to which it apportains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the construction of concrete aqued ucts,tunnels, subways, culverts and the like ;and involves an improved methodof making such structures as well as the means employed therein.

The invention pertains particularly to the method of forming concretewalls for the bottom, sides'and top of a tunnel, aqueduct or otherstructure," and in practice an inner core or framework is employed;provided at the sides and top with an inner shell or casing composed ofboards or othersuitable material, and an outer shell or casing is alsoemployed at the sides and top of the aqueduct, tunnel or otherstructure, and composed of boards or other material suitably supported,and between the outer and inner shells or casings are placed molds whichmay be moved forwardly from time to time between said outer and innershells or casinga'said outer and inner shells or casings forming achamber,

'the cross sectional form of which is the shape of the .sides and top ofthe'aqueduct, tunnel, subway or other structure in cross section, andthe dimensions of which is equal to the:dimensio ns or thickness of theside and top walls of the aqueduct, tunnel, subway 0i. other strpcture,which are composed of concrete, and which are molded between the outerand jnner shells or casings as'the work progresses, the bottom wall ofthe aqueduct,

tunnel, subway or other structure being also formed of concrete, andthebottom, side and top walls-of the said structurebeing carriedforwardly as theconstruction progresses and being formed of separatesections or subdivisions connected by interlocking joints of different40 or various forms molded in such manner asto form a continuoushomogeneous wall or structure of concrete which will be impervious'andthrough which water or other liquids cannot pass. 7 I I In practice, theside molds hidhare placed between the inner and outer shellsor casingsin forming the side and top walls of the aqueductl-tunnel, subway orother structure are so formed as to be placed-in an inclined position,and the separa'tepsections or divisions of the side and top walls of theaqueduc tftunnel or other structure are connected by inclined andhorizontal joints as well as by means of tongues andgrooves iormecl bythe molds employed, and this feature of theicon 'struction adds tothestrength of the sides and top walls of concrete and aids making suchwalls impervious or impermeable bywater or other liquids.

tion through one of the side molds on the linesA- i of "by means ofwhich the joints between the bottom and reinforcing rods or bars used inthe'concrete of the bot k 100 i 11 beginning the formation of concretewalls for an The invention is iully disclosed in the followingspecification, of which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in whichthe separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitablereference characters in each of the views, and in which Figure 1 is anend view oi the bottom, side and top walls of an aqueduct, tunnel orsimilar structure made according to my invention and showing the innerand outer shells or casings between which the side and top walls arecast or formed; Fig. 2 a side view of the construction shown in Fig. andshowing the outer shell or casing partially broken away, and showing anabutment wall in section against which the structure of the aqueduct ortunnel walls is begun and showing also the molds employed between theinner and outer shells or casings between which the side and top wallsof the aqueduct, tunnel or other structureare formed; Fig. 3 I

a view similar to 'Fig. 2 but showing the outer shell or casing entirelyiemoved, and showing a part oi one side I wall of the aqueduct, tunnelor other structure, and showing the molds employed between the inner andouter shells or casings set forward as-when beginning a new section ordivision of the construction of the side. and top walls of thestructure; Fig. 4 a transverse see- Fig. 6; Fig. 5 a section through oneof the molds on the -lines 55 of Fig. 3 and Fight 6 a race view of oneoi-the corner molds employed at the bottom "of each sidewall of theaqueduct, tunnel or other structureand side wallsare formed andshowing'also a part of one side wa'll mold and apart of the mainbottom'wall mold;

Fig. 7 a planview of the construction as shown in Fig. 2 with'the moldsremoved and the outer and inner shells or casings removed and showingthe main central part of the bottom wall of the aqueduct, tunnel orother structure extended; Fig. 8 a section on the line 8-8-0f Fig. 2,and showing the mold partially separated from the concrete side wall,and showing reinforcing rods or .bars used inthe concrete side wall;and, Fig. 99. section onthe line 9-9 of 6 and showing a bottom moldseparate from a part-oi the concreteof the bottom wall of theaqueduct'or other structure and showing' also tom wall.

' supported in any desired manner, and between which-' the concrete sideand top walls b of the'aqueduct, tunnel or other structure are formed,and I also provide side molds c and a top mold d which areadapted to beplaced between the outer and inner shells or casings a'- and a and inthe form of construction shown, four of the side molds c are employed oneach side, and in connection therewith are employed combination cornermolds e which serve to form the bottom parts of the concrete side wallsof the tunnel or aqueduct, and the adjacent side portions of the bottomwall I), and in connection therewith I also provide a main bottom mold findicated in Fig. 1 and partially sho wn in Fig. 6.

The top mold a! is angular in form and composed of horizontal sidebottom portions ol and a transverse vertical portion d and the sidemolds c are angular in form as clearly shown in Figs.2 and 3 beingcbmposed of a'horizontal bottom portion 0 and an upwardly and backwardlyinclined portion and these side molds when placed together between theside portions of the shellsor casings a and a range upwardly andbackwardly or in the direction of the abutment wall-a. The rearfaces ofall of the molds c, d, e'and f, or the faces thereof which are directedtoward the abutment wall a, and the bottom faces of the side portions 01of the top mold d and the bottom faces of the bottom parts 0" of theside mold c are providedwith tongues and grooves. Acrosssection of theupper inclined part of one of the-molds c is shown in Fig. 4, saidsection being taken on the dotted lines 44 of Figs.3 and 6, anda crosssection of the angular or bottom portion of one of the molds c is shownin Fig. 5 said section being taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3, and thispart of the mold a is the same in cross section as the bottom part ofthe angular corner molds e employedat the bottom corners of the sidewall construction and where said corners join the bottom wall of theaqueduct, tunnel or other structure. Y

The tongues and grooves in the faces of all the molds c, d, and farepreferably substantially similar and consist of a main projectingcentral tongue g at each side of which are smaller tongues- 9 formingcorresponding grooves 9 and the tongues g on one side of the centraltongues g are preferably of a shape in cross section different fromthose on the other side. The central tongues g of the upwardly andbackwardly inclined portions of the molds c and e are preferably whatare called locking tongues, the ,outer transverse dimensions thereofbeing greater than the inner transverse dimensions, and these tonguesare removable when the molds are .in position and passed downwardlythrough the bottom horizontal portions 0 of each of the molds c 7 intothe 'upper and backw'ardly inclined portion of the 1 next moldthereunder, while the tongues g of the hori other structure togetherwith reinforcing rods h which be employed, if desired, but which are notan essential feature of my invention, and in Fig. 9, I have shown asection on the line 9-9 of Fig. 6 inwhich a part of the bottom mold f isshown together with a part of the bottom wall b of the aqueduct, tunnelor other structure.

Inpractice, the'corner molds e and bottom mold f are first placed inposition at a predetermined distance from the abutting wall a and thematerial of the bottom wall b of the aqueduct, tunnel or other structureis v placed in position so as to fillthe space between the mold f, themolds e and the abutting wall a. The central frame or core work whichsupports the inner shells I or casings a is placed on this part of thebottom wall b after, the material thereof has hardened and pro jectedforwardly, and the inner casing or shell (1 is placed in positionthereon, and the outer casing or shell a is alsoplaced in position,after which the side and top molds c and d are placed in positionbetween the shells or casings a so as to correspond with-the position ofthe corner molds e, and the space between the molds c and d and theabutting wall a is then filled .in with concrete. This forms the firstsection of the side,

top and bottom concrete walls of the aqueduct, tunnel orother-structure, and after the concrete has partially set, the lockingtongues g are drawn out of the molds c and-e and thebottoni mold f,.corner molds e and side and top molds c and d are moved forward apredetermined distance, the locking tongues c of the molds c and e areplaced in position and another section or 1 in the preceding section ordivision which has become.

hard are filled in with concrete and the tongues of the precedingsection extend into the new'section or division of concrete and in thisway the separate sections or divisions of concrete are completely lockedtogether, and continuous walls are formed.

In practice I prefer to extend the bottom wall 5 of the aqueduct, tunnelor other structure forward as shown at b in Fig. 7 so as'to form asupport for the central core or frame with which the inner shell orcasing a is connected, and in this case the bottom mold f may or may notbe employed, or the entire bottom portion of the floor-pf the aqueduct,tunnel or other structure may be so carried forward together with thebottom portion of the side walls thereof, in which event, both" thecentral bottom mold f and the comer molds 0 may be also be employed ashereinbefore described; it being understood that, in practice, all ofsaid molds are carried forward a predetermined distance at eachoperation,

after which the concrete( forming the wallsof the structure is filled inbetween the shells or casings a and any suitable means may be providedfor gaging the quired shape in cross section.

My invention is not limited to the particular form thickness of thebottom wall I) and for givingit the re-- oi the molds shown anddescribednor to theparticular form of the tongues or grooves with whichthe faces division will answer all necessary requirements, it

being understood that the. side molds should, be so formed as to make aninclined joint for the succeeding sections or divisions as indicated inFigs. 2, 4 and 7.

The use of an abutment a at the beginning oi the jaqueduct, tunnel orother structure is not absolutely necessary andior thispnrpose the moldsc, d, e and f may be employed, in which event, the position thereof willbe reversed, or two sets of such molds may be en ployed for beginningthe construction of the walls of the aqueduct, tunnel or otherstructure.

It will be understood, of course, that the shells or .casings a and aform together a complete casing in I which the side and top walls ofthe. tunnel, aqueduct -or other structure are cast 0r for med, and theseinner" and outer shells or casings a and a may be constru ct ed andsupported in any desired manner. It will be observed that the bottom ofthe inner shell or casing a is higher than the bottom of the outer shellor casing a the distance between the bottom portions of said shells orcasings determining the thickness of the i bottom wall of the aqueduct,tunnel or other structure,

and this affords means for the proper joining and connection of thebottom'wall with the side walls of the aqueduct, tunnel or otherstructure.

Having iully described my invention, 'what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:;

p 1. The-method herein described 01 forming the walls of an aqueduct,tunnel or other structure-which consists in providing a casing for theside and top walls, s'ideand top -molds adapted to fit in said casingand to be moved longi- 40 tudlnally thereof, a bottom mold operating inconnection with the side molds and adapted to be moved therewith, andmoving said molds forwardly step by step and filling in the spaces thusformed in said .casing with concrete to form the side and top walls andfilling in the bottom portion with concreteto form the bottom wall. 2.The method herein described of forming the walls o1!v air-aqueduct,tunnel or other structure consistingin pr0- viding a casing for the sideand topwallsat the bottom of which is a space for the bottom wall, anabutment againstwhich-said casing is placed, side and top-molds Whichareadapted tofit in said casing, and bottom molds, operating in connectionwith the side molds, and moving said molds forwardly step by step andfilling in the casing with concrete rearwardly of said molds at'eachsuccessiverorward '55 movement of said molds and also -illllng' in thebottom of the aqueduct, tunnel or other structure with concrete to" formthe bottom wall.

3. The herein described means for forming the side, top and bottomwallsof an aqueduct, tunnel'or other structure of concrete, comprising innerand outer sides and top shells o'r casings, separate side and top moldsadapted to be placed in the'space between said shells or casings and tobe interlocked, and a bottom mold adapted to operate in connection withthe side molds,'said molds being provided in their faces with groovesand ribs to formcorresponding ribs and grooves inthe concrete, and saidmolds being also adapted to be moved forwardly step by step.

4. The herein described means for forming concrete walls for anaqueduct, tunnel or other structure, comprising inner and outer shellsbetween which the side and top walls are formed, the inner shell beinghigher at the bottom than the outer shell, side and top molds movablebetween said shells, and a bottom mold operating in connection with theside molds and adapted to be moved therewith forwardly step. by step.

5. The herein described means for forming COHCIEH walls for an aqueduct,tunnel or other structure, comprising inner and outer shells betweenwhich the side and top \val'ls'are formed, the inner shell being higherat the bottom than the outer-shell, side and top molds movable betweensaid shells, and a bottom mold operating in connection with side moldsand adapted to be moved therewith forwardly step by step,'the faces of,said molds being-provided with tongues and grooves which extendlongitudinally thereof. i

6. The herein described means for forming concrete walls for anaqueduct,tunnel or other structure, comprising inner and outer shells betweenwhich the side and top walls are formedgthe inner shell being higher atthe bottom than the outer shell, side and top molds movable between saidshells, and a bottom mold operating in connection with side molds andadapted to be moved therewith forwardly step by 'step, the faces of saidmolds being pro vided with tongues and grooves which extendlongitudinally thereon. and the side molds being composed of horizontalbottom portions and upwardly and backwardly inclined top portions.

7.?lhe hereindescribed means for forming concrete walls for anaqueductftunnel or other structure, comprls-'.

ing innerand outershellsbetweeu which the side and top walls are formed,the inner shell being higher at the bottom than the outer shell, sideand top molds movable between said shells, and a bottom mold operatingin con ,nectlon with side molds and adapted to be moved therewithforwardly step by step, the faces of said molds being provided with,tongues and grooves which extend longitudinally thereof, and the sidemolds being composed of horizontal bottomportions and upwardlyandjbackwardly inclined top portions, and means for locking the sidemolds together and for forming locking grooves in the concrete.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention i have signed myname in presence of the subscribing witnesses this 15th day of February1907.

JAMES THOMPSON WILSON. Witnesses:

C. E. MULnnANr, A. WonnnivGmss.

